Baked Doughnuts

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together roughly half of the flour with the 75g caster sugar, salt and yeast with a whisk. Warm the milk for 30 seconds in the microwave and stir in the butter until it melts. Stir in the egg yolks and vanilla extract.
2. Pour the liquid into the dry mixture and whisk all of the ingredients togehter until no lumps remain. Cover the bowl with cling film and wait for bubbles to begin coming to the surface (up to 10 minutes), which shows that the yeast is working.
3. Pour the remaining flour into the bowl, stir with a cutlery knife until evenly combined. Lighlty dust your work surface with flour, pour the dough out onto the work surface, rub your hands in flour and then knead the dough until you have a smooth soft dough – add more flour if the dough remains sticky. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes until it’s about double in size.
4. In the meantime, if making custard; warm the milk in a small saucepan until when you tip the pan up there are bubbles on the bottom. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and flours. Pour a splash of milk into the bowl and whisk. Continue to do this, slowly, until you have mixed in all of the milk. Transfer the liquid back into the saucepan, place over a medium-low heat and constantly whisk until thick. For this recipe you should have a pipeable consistency. Cover your custard, either in the pan or a small bowl, with cling film – press it down onto the custard (this will prevent a skin from forming).
5. Once your dough has risen, lightly flour your work surface and gently knead until smooth. Lightly flour a rolling pin and roll your dough out to about 1.5-2cm thick. Use a 7-8cm round cookie cutter to cut out as many rounds as you can before re-rolling and repeating – you should get roughly around 12. Place them on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, cover with a teatowel and leave to prove in a warm place for 15-20 minutes until soft and airy. Preheat the oven to 190C/ 180C Fan.
6. Bake the doughnuts in the oven for 10-12 minutes until well risen and golden in some places. Meanwhile, melt the 15g butter in a small bowl, spread the 60g sugar over a large plate/ shallow bowl and spoon your choice of fillings into a piping bag (seal the large end with an elastic band or bag clip – if using a reusable piping bag, seal both ends until using).
7. Once baked, use a pastry brush to brush butter over each doughnut and then roll in the sugar. Place back onto the tray and cut a small hole in the side of the doughnut, all the way through to the middle and give it a little wiggle to make space for your filling. Pipe the filling into each doughnut until they feel heavy. Enjoy warm or cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.